About Green America

Green America is a not-for-profit membership organization founded in 1982 that went by the name “Co-op America” until January 1, 2009. Our mission is to harness economic power—the strength of consumers, investors, businesses, and the marketplace—to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society.

At Green America:

We mobilize people in their economic roles—as consumers, investors, workers, and business leaders.

We focus on economic strategies—economic action to solve social and environmental problems.

We empower people to take personal and collective action.

We work on issues of social justice and environmental responsibility. We see issues of social justice and environmental responsibility as completely linked in the quest for a sustainable world. It’s what we mean when we say “green.”

We work to stop abusive practices and to create healthy, just and sustainable practices.

Overall, we work for a world where all people have enough, where all communities are healthy and safe, and where the bounty of the Earth is preserved for all the generations to come.

On our blog, we encourage dialogue about what a truly green society would look like. We welcome your comments, and we encourage free exchange of ideas. We believe that anything can be said in a respectful way that helps others to examine new ideas and reconsider established positions. We reserve the right to monitor our blog’s comments and remove comments that are not respectful.

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Great work! We have just launched an effort to teach the world to make their own solar panels – GoSolarLiving.com / GoSolarWorkshop.com We have created a full line of Personal Solar™ or PS™ solar products that will revolutionize the making of solar for the rest of us. We have created a Sun Rating system to get you right to the end result quickly – the daily use of solar for all of your Personal Solar needs. Forget the complex math and all the fuss you have heard about solar energy and just start using it… with our simple solar ready products – iUse™, iHold™ battery paks and iGet™ simple to assemble battery systems… that you can assemble. It is all DIY – with the knowledge of so simple that even your kids will be able to understand and begin using it right away. Go to GoSolarLiving.com and begin using your Personal Solar™ system… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7GLrlBSqd4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

According to a recent study by the Global Business Travel Associating (GBTA) sustainability initiatives are playing an increasingly important aspect in managed travel programs. GBTA surveyed travel managers in the U.S., Europe and Australia in regards to sustainability or ‘green’ efforts in their companies when it comes to their business travel programs.

In the consumer domain, the interest of the public in ethical consumerism, i.e. the implementation of socially responsible and sustainable products and services, is quickly becoming one of the biggest movements within the consumer marketplace. More consumers are actively seeking out authentic travel experiences. Sixty-one percent of Americans believe their experience is better when their destination preserves its unique natural, historic, and cultural sites. Among them, 54 percent stated they would be more likely to frequent hotels or resorts they knew practiced environmental responsibility practices.

Such ‘Green’ travel toolbox for business, personal and leisure travelers is TripSketch, a recognized suite of applications in Mobile Green Travel and web-based trip planning tools. TripSketch Corporation has introduced a suite of mobile apps earlier this year, each offering multiple city guides for less than the price of most single city guides (http://tripsketch.com/mobile). Building on the success of its award-winning Global Green Book mobile application, TripSketch’s Travel Guides highlight eco-friendly and sustainable attractions, tours, restaurants, hotels, travel services and community social enterprises, but also includes the popular attractions. TripSketch’s Regional Green Travel Guides include Northern Europe, France & Southern Europe, Central Europe, Canada, Asia, Australia & New Zealand, US Northeast, US West, US Midwest, US South & US Southwest and are available for the iPhone, Android and Nokia.

The expertly written and curated travel guidebooks download onto the mobile device so that internet access is not required to see the information; or to turn to a GPS to access travel ideas nearby.

TripSketch Founder and CEO, Lalitha Swart presents the app as your friendly concierge. “If you’re looking for an activity or restaurant and find just one good idea that impacts your trip in a positive way, then the app has done its job,” she says.

Mapping and calendaring tools, and an easy-to-use interface makes it simple and convenient for travelers to determine which travel options best fit their interests, proximity, and itinerary. New activities and cities are periodically added to the guides without additional charge to users.

Recognizing travel’s potential to positively impact social and sustainable projects, the company will donate 20% of all mobile app revenues to select non-profit social and environmental causes highlighted in the Green Guides. Last but not least, the company expects to crowdsource sustainable travel ideas from users themselves, thereby moving sustainable travel far beyond the frontier of reusing hotel towels!

TripSketch is recognized by the travel industry for its leadership in sustainable travel and was awarded 1st Place in the Eco/Green category by Nokia at its 2010 “Calling all Innovators” Competition for its Green Traveler application. TripSketch’s Global Green Book mobile application won the top award from MobileVillage in 2011, selected as “Superstar” in the Navigation/Travel category, and was awarded “Shining Star” in the Specialty Social Network category, second to Foursquare.

There is a children’s story about a woodcutter who caught an elf in the woods and forced the elf to reveal the location of a buried treasure. The woodcutter did not have a spade with him to dig right then. So he tied his bandana around the tree closest to the buried treasure and extracted a promise from the elf to leave the bandana alone. When he returned with a spade, there was a bandana just like his tied to every tree in the area.

Your best bet is to try the “Good Housekeeping” seal of approval approach. Create your own label for food that is non-GMO but otherwise conventionally grown. Then try to get sellers to apply for your label. Don’t charge any more than you need to run the label program. Don’t ask for anything more than non-GMO and adhering to applicable federal standards for food in general. Educate consumers to look for your label. You will be establishing a category less strict than organic but excluding GMO.

The biggest problem may be pollination of ordinary plants with GMO pollen. In many areas it may be necessary to buy fresh non-GMO seed every year. In some areas it may be impossible to grown non-GMO corn, because corn is wind-pollinated, and because corn pollen affects the current year’s grains of corn, not just the corn plant that grows from that seed.

I hope you can find a more environmentally friendly way of doing fundraising. Your Matching Gift Challenge 2014 just arrived by snail mail. I am one of those people who do not respond to snail mail from environmental organizations. I may respond to fundraising appeals by email because I realize how many trees and how much energy and money is saved by not mailing stuff. Thanks for hearing me out.

I just received a letter with the green America logo and there is a 9 digit number under that looks like a cert #. Is there a place I can go and verify the business that is being projected to be the originator of the letter by cert number ###-###-###

As it turns out, some of the leading organic dairy companies, including Stonyfield, Organic Valley, Aurora Organic and White Wave/Horizon Organic are members of the IDFA—which not only joined in the lawsuit against Vermont, but publicly supports a federal bill, introduced in April, that would prevent any state from passing a mandatory GMO labeling law.